This invention relates to an apparatus for transferring flat items from one conveyor to another such that a principal face of the items remains downwardly oriented. The conveyor to which the items are transferred has a conveying direction which is at an angle to that of the conveyor from which the articles are taken.
Swiss Pat. No. 621,528 discloses a device for transferring groups of edgewise upwardly oriented disc-like or wafer-like flat articles. Groups formed by a plurality of such articles are transferred from a first conveyor belt to a second conveyor belt by means of article carriers. The transfer motion is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the article group as oriented on the first conveyor, and the second conveyor extends parallel to the group axis. The transfer is effected by means of a transfer pusher, while an acceleration pusher causes an acceleration of the article group until the latter reaches the conveying speed of the second conveyor belt. While with such a device a high transfer output is feasible, a loss of time nevertheless occurs, since the articles first have to be grouped into stacks.